First Journeys Chapter 18
Chapter 18: First Days After a day of class room instructions there was another dinner. Instead of China and silverware, there were rectangular stone slaps and long thin hook like utensils. The Nogoll Instructor mounted his floating disc and said. “You will learn to use the utensils of other cultures as well. While there are Fleet standard procedures for everything and Fleet standard utensils we want you to experience as much as possible about other cultures. If we can use the sum of our cultural knowledge to help us understand the ways of a society you may encounter for the first time as an officer and thus represent the Union it might break down barriers. “Today we are learning how Attikans eat at a formal event. The hooks represent the claws and are used to tear your food into smaller manageable bits. The food we serve today is also Attikan style. Those of you who can’t eat this will be presented with lookalike substitute food tailored to your metabolism.” Two-Three who had found a seat next to me snickered.” I wonder what they will serve me then, as I can’t eat anything.” The Nogoll instructor turned on his platform responding to the Non Corp’s question, showing that they did monitor our conversations.”You will still learn how to use the utensils and pretend to eat. Your suit is equipped with a lock mechanism and the food will simply disintegrate. Many Non Corps went through the Academy before you.” They served the food that looked and smelled like slightly cooked carrion. The Nogoll said.” It is imperative that you understand that you will be ambassadors of the Union when you meet other civilizations. Eating and the sharing of food is an important part of many cultures and can break down barriers. It has been shown that the consuming of food is very universal and almost always associated with social customs and taboos. We want you to learn to accept what you might find disgusting without showing it. Now we don’t want you to eat poison or something harmful and you can in such cases decline partaking, but never show disgust or any other negative emotion when you are served foreign foods.” The Nogoll suddenly gagged and almost threw up, and more and more cadets started to look sick, those who had noses tried to hold them close. Before I could ask what was going on I too got a whiff of the most horrible stench I had ever smelled.It was worse than Surströmming. It was so bad my stomach turned and it took all my will power to keep the heaves down. The Nogoll finally managed to say.” Holy Mountains rocks, what is that?” The Cadet who had introduced himself as Elly earlier on said proudly. “Gelatinous Pulse stink maggots. I wanted to celebrate the safety of my family and surprise you all with a wonderful delight!” The Elly had a wrinkled gray skin, a long triangular shaped head and two large triangular ears. Along with the deep set yellow eyes he almost looked like a furless Nubhir Wolf, except he did not have a teeth filled snout but an underarm long hose like trunk and his voice sounded just like mine would have if I talked through a long hose or pipe. Holding his furry paws before his nostrils the Nogoll said. “You just demonstrated that to every rule there is an exception. We scrubbed, scanned and searched you. Where did you get these?” “There was a snack machine in the hall, sir and I watched it being stocked and so I asked if they had any Elly Snacks. They man stocking it got me a whole case. I gladly share with everyone!” “No need Cadet, but you helped me to make a point and showed us that we all, me included, need to learn to keep our reactions better under control. To make my point, were you offended by my reaction to your offering, that was meant as a present?” “Offended, no of course not, it takes us Elly years to get used to the smell and kids react just like you do, but I do understand what you trying to make us see, Sir.” “Well now please eat your Maggots fast and put them away so I can continue with my instructions and...” He stopped and threw his hands in the air. “No not tonight, I am an Instructor for a long time and have taught thousands of new cadets to accept apparently revolting foods and tonight you taught me a lesson, so tonight we forget about the eating utensils and I just instructed the kitchen to serve Pizza. The one food I learned almost everyone likes.” The cadets greeted the announcement with a cheer and as it ebbed off some lonely voice somewhere said.” I don’t like pizza.” Right after wake up call and a hurried shower, the Nogoll inspected us and found hundred things wrong with the uniforms. He was only satisfied when the last Cadet looked exactly like regulations required, then he said. “You are lucky cadets as we are not the Marines. You would already made two hundred push ups for every problem I found on your uniforms, but we too put great emphasis on personal fitness. It was quite difficult to find a common denominator and a training regimen that is equally demanding on all of you but the Academy found an elegant solution to the problem. We simply train you hard and it is your responsibility to keep up.” Our instructors had us assemble at the inner ledge of the Duro-Crete foundation that was the base of the transparent dome encasing the entire compount. This ledge was about five meters wide and had nothing in terms of railings or saefty barriers. That foundation was at least thirty meters above the ground. This foundation ring was as I learned exactly 12 kilometers long. The transparent material of the dome split the ring more or less in the middle and created a two meters wide ledge on the inside and one on the outside of the dome. The foundation wall below the ring had doors in equal intervals I had entered the Academy a few days ago through one of these. Over a ladder we had to climb up onto that inner ledge and then they divided us in groups of ten cadets and made us around that rim. We saw other cadet groups lift weights, climb robes attached to scaffolds or carried boxes up and down the stairs leading from the domes perimeter to the Applicant roads. I even saw a group in old looking pressure suits run the same foundation ring on the outside of the dome. My group included an Elly, the Non-Corp and the Garbini, four humans and two Attikan.I considered myself a decent runner and was reasonably fit, as I was swimming and diving mostly all my life... The Attikan, the trunk nosed Elly and the humans had no problem with this exercise and for the first two rounds it was actually like a little contest between me and the two Attikan. They reminded me a little of Terran wolfs. As the Wolf was the Olafson herald animal it was one of the Earth animals I knew and I had made a point to check them out during a virtual Zoo visit. The Attikan had the same kind of short coarse fur, except around the shoulders and up their necks where it was much longer. Their snouts were much shorter than that of a wolf and their ears not pointed but round. Both Attikan were as tall as I am and very muscular. They walked like a Wolf would walk upright and on their toe tips, their heels were much higher up the leg. To support their upright walk they wore boots with enormous high heeled wedge like soles to support their tip toe walk. The one with the gray fur and the black dots introduced himself as Pure and the one with brown fur and black horizontal fur stripes listened to the name of Fectiv. Fectiv and I ran at head to head and he laughed in a coughing manner. “Your fast human, but you couldn’t keep up with a Attikan if I ran for real.” I kept a good pace and regulated my breathing.” Well then my new friend, I think we need to run for real then.” “How about to that second flight of stairs leading to Applicant road four?” He suggested. I estimated it to be about 500 meters from where we were right now and I said. “Let’s go for it!” He dropped and ran on hands and legs, like a real wolf did and truly took off in a burst of speed. I sprinted as fast as I could, at school I ran the 400 meters at 49.56 and that was decent. Still the Attikan beat me by many lengths but I almost kept up with the other Attikan. The rest of our group was far behind. After I caught my breath Fectiv put his paw on my shoulder. “You are fast human! I think you could run with an Attikan pack.” “I am not so sure. You look quite fresh and I am pumped.” “Well I use four legs and Attika has vast planes, bigger than some planets oceans and in our stone age Attikan had to run away from Zinools when we tried to snatch their kill.” I wiped my mouth and grinned.” I bet your planes are not as big as the oceans on Nilfeheim.” “You know Attika?” “Not really but Nilfeheim is all water, except for a few specks of rocky islands.” He laughed. “I wonder how you learned to run so fast on a planet without land to run on.” “My world freezes over for seven years and you can run on ice just fine.” “Isn’t it slippery?” “It’s too cold for that.” An instructor came floating up to us.” Being faster than the others doesn’t mean you can stop running. It just means you have to do more rounds! Now get moving!” So we started running again but at a measured pace. From up here I could look outside and see the planets yellowish brown cracked surface.Everywhere groups of Cadets engaged in a physical exercises, supervised by black uniformed Instructors. Pure didn’t talk very much and I asked Fectiv about it. He turned to his friend and then back to me and said. “He is a Striped, they never say much. It’s nothing personal.” Pure curled his chaps revealing a row of sharp incisors. “And he is a Dotted, they talk way too much.” Remembering Mix I said. “What does the showing of teeth mean for an Attikan?” Pure made a few faster steps to catch up. “There are hundreds of ways to show your teeth. Right now I was trying to insult Fectiv, not in a real bad way though. You see how he put the ears and his tail, that means he understood it was not serious. Now if you see an Attikan with the Neck fur all standing up and the chaps up as far as possible, that is as serious as it gets.” Pure glanced down the rim. “Not that I feel very comfortable running so high up and that you can see because my tail isn’t doing much, but hanging down.” Fectiv said.” I am not exactly feeling all that well either, but I manage and I am very pleased you want to know about Attikan, maybe you can tell me what it means when a human raises the bushy fur remnants above their eyes. My Union teacher was a human and he did it all the time.” “It could mean surprise if it is both eye brows and amazement if it is one.” As we talked we made it around the rim and caught up with the others. I reached Two-three and he complained as he noticed me.” While I don’t have muscles that could get tired, it takes a lot of concentration to keep the legs moving that fast.” “What do you mean by concentrating?” “I don’t really have legs you know. I must visualize every movement, be it a finger move or a leg and then put some of my energy in that visualized shape and then change the shape to mimic muscle movement. What you do sub consciously takes an awful lot of thinking on my part. Especially since the instructors turned off the Computronic module that normally does that for me.” He actually stumbled and I caught him. “You see I get distracted and I mix up my legs.” “I bet you do just fine floating in a sun and I would not know what to do!” “I would show you of course, but I think Potsema our Garbini friend is in worst shape.” I looked behind us remembering passing the Methane breather. The Garbini struggled visibly on his six walking tentacles. One of the instructors mocked him. “Come on you slow invertebrate, you got six legs. Moving slower than a Shaill without a Grav Sled.” To me the instructor yelled. “Don’t slow down Olafson. Don’t let those slow misfits keep you. You’re fast! Show them how it´s done!” I still slowed down and fell next to the Garbini and asked. “Are you alright?” He had a distressed sound in his voice. “The Instructor said he fails me if I don’t make it all the way around at least once. It is hard for me to stay on my tentacles walking and takes much energy I can’t run that far, we live in trees. We are not meant to run, you see I don’t have bones, just muscle and without the Exo-skeleton that we use normally to walk, I am screwed. I wanted to be an Officer so badly.” “That reminds me of an old friend of mine and many stairs. He had only bones and no muscles. How much do you weigh?” The Garbini’s tentacles shivered.” I think about 95 kilos under one Gee.” To the instructor I said.” You won’t fail him if he makes it once around right?” “If he completes at least one round he will pass.” “Potsema you got lots of Tentacles to hold on, let me carry you! He didn’t specify how you going to get around the circle.” The Garbini stopped.” Are you serious?” “Don’t argue I don’t have that much breath to spare!” It was a weird feeling to have his tentacles worm around me, but I simply ignored it, thought about the stairs of Hasvik and told myself at least I could see an end here and it was not cold as I was back then when I had to climb those narrow icy stairs. I ran with the Garbini on my back trying to fall in an energy saving rhythm as much as possible. He did not feel heavier then that sack of Soak stones I had dragged up the mountain side of Muspelheim, but then I had grown since then and that episode felt like it happened a life time ago. I was drenched with sweat but we made it once around, twelve kilometers with a Garbini on my back wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. The physical training instructor who had mocked the Garbini awaited us and said. “Well the Garbini made it but your Non Corp Buddy hasn’t. Well maybe there is another Non Corp in the next class.” I tried to catch my breath and stemmed both my hands against my knees. I saw Two-Three about a 1000 meters ahead, struggling keeping his legs moving.” How long does he have?” “I give him an hour to but he never going to make it at that pace.” “I wonder why you doing this. He has no legs you know!” Then I ran to get the Non Corp. After I reached him and I explained to Two-Three that I wanted to carry him he said.” But why would you do that for me?” “Odin’s beard! “ I yelled.” Get on my back and don’t argue! I simply hate unfair situations!” The Non Corp was surprisingly light and not more than perhaps fifty kilos and half way round Pure caught up with me.” I can help too, let me take Two-Three for the rest of the way!” We made it in good time and I grinned at the Instructor, who was a human and said. “I guess you don’t have to wait for the next class. This one still has a Non Corp!” “We see if we have a Neo Viking after the next exercise!” He responded and led us to a large framework of interlocking metal bars about ten meters of the ground and 20 meters long. Looking much like a horizontal metal ladder attached to horizontal ones at each end. “ I think the next station is self explanatory. You see those sand bags, there are ten for each of you, get them over to the other side, without touching the ground. It doesn’t matter how you do it.” The Non Corp said. “If we had some conveyor system that be the ticket.” “That’s a good idea, Two Three, that is how we going to do it.I grinned and the Garbini waved his tentacles.” Of course we do the same as we did with the water sleeve in the queue!” The other cadets easily grasped the idea and with a cadet sitting in equal spaced intervals on the scaffold we formed a chain and simply passed the bags along and the Garbini showed his skills at the end carrying four bags at a time and a cadet who was afraid of heights all at once. They gave us similar tasks all day long without a lunch break. At the end of the day I had cramps all over and felt sore in muscles I didn’t even know I had. The Nogoll instructor gathered us together and said. “Each of you has strengths and weaknesses and you all are only as strong as the weakest of you. Today you learned and demonstrated that by working together all obstacles can be mastered. I am proud of you all, you showed some great team work. Now you have exactly 12 minutes to shower and get into formal uniform and meet me at the Dinner hall.” “No matter how tired or exhausted you are, I don’t want to see you yawn or nod off.” The Nogoll said from his Hover disc. “Imagine you are all at a state dinner and you are guests of honor. Present are the leaders of a potential new member species. There will be an officer or two at each table and you will make polite small talk. Follow the instructions and again, if I see someone yawn or sleep you will fail this exercise and test.” I whispered to Two Three. “Lucky you, you have no eyes to fall shut or yawn. Do you actually get tired?” “Yes we do get tired, not in a physical sense like Corporals do, but in a mental one and rest periods are very much necessary to keep a good mental balance. Believe me I am as tired as can be today, but I can help you if you want.” “Help me? How?” “I can boost your neural energies, it won’t be like sleeping and you still need nourishment from bio chemical processes, but the electro chemical energies I can increase. Manipulating energies is something we Non Corps do all the time after all.” He touched my hand and it was as if I had just finished twenty cups of coffee and taken a cold shower. I felt as fresh and alert as jumping naked into a snow drift.” Thor’s thunder!” “Be careful though it is only a neural stimulus, and won’t last long. You still need sleep soon.” “Who needs sleep?” I checked out the Officer that was sitting on our table. It was a female human and I said. “Hello Guest of Honor, how is your planet today?” My mind was racing! I could not stop talking or really sit still! I said things before I could stop myself. She said with a smile.” I am from Simula Cadet and I would assume everything is fine with it.” “Oh no, that can’t be true! Your planet is poorer and in miserable shape. For you are not gracing it with your lovely presence!” I didn’t just say that or did I? “I wonder how you managed to get in to that Uniform Lieutenant, or is it painted on? It appears two sizes to small!” The only time I felt that way was when I accidentally drank one of Egill’s Cola Vodka mixes and was drunk as a Nubhir Herder. “How can I make small talk with someone so well endowed? It should be big talk, if you ask me!” She blinked and said.” Are you alright Cadet Olafson?” “Alright? Of course I am alright. I feel great and not the least bit tired. I can even calculate and add sums in my mind while we talk. It is amazing, I could never do that before!” Two-Three said.” Oh my I think I overdosed you a little. “Try to drink some water and eat and be quiet!” The Nogoll said. “Cadet Olafson. Small talk does not mean you have to entertain the entire table. An officer is always tactful and distinct. If I would not know better I say you are drunk!” “Sir! I had a some water today. What do you call a Nogoll beard by the way? Is it a goatee?” “Mr. Olafson since you are so fresh and still have so much energy, I think there are lawns to mow!” “Thank you so much! I couldn’t sit still another minute. How do you mow a lawn We don’t have those on Nilfeheim.” An hour later I knew how a lawn was mowed at the academy, with hand scissors and on my knees. It was late at night, whatever Two-Three had done to me, the effects were long gone and I was all alone on the lawn segment with a pair of scissors clipping green grass. The Sun simulator at the top of the dome was off and light was provided by individual lamps lining the applicant roads. The cone shaped Academy administration building was mostly dark only a few windows had lights behind them. In the distance up at the rim I saw a pair of Cadets in Dark green dress uniforms complete with duck bill caps and shock batons walking perimeter patrol. It was actually only 50 meters till the little groomed tree, that marked the end of the area I had to clip, but clipping grass the way I was, it would take all night. Since the strange energy boost had worn off I could feel the soreness of my muscles and my eyes were sandy and I was as tired as I never had been before, at least that is how I felt. I was tempted to simply lay down and sleep right here. The grass was nice and soft, but I would clip that grass! I also promised myself to not to accept help from beings with abilities I had no idea about. Potsema emerged from the building, carrying a four clipper tools at once. “I thought I help you Eric. I got lots of arms and it will go faster.” “I sure hope you don’t get into trouble, for being out here after lights out.” “No I asked and volunteered that’s how I got these clippers, the others of our section are coming too. Except two of the humans who didn’t want to lose sleep.” He started clipping and I got a warm feeling as I saw Two-Three, the Elly, Pure, Fectiv and two of the humans of our group coming out all carrying clippers. We were done in short time and the Nogoll instructor used a metal ruler checked the length of the grass and nodded.” Well done Cadets, now get cleaned up and go to sleep.” The next day they issued us Pressure suits and made us sweep the landing fields. Working in a pressure suit was exhausting and the fine powdery sulphuric dust resisted sweeping quite stubbornly, of course the Instructors were only then satisfied after the landing field was clean. I wondered what this exercise was for. The Nogoll answered my question by saying: “It isn’t an exercise. The Commandant likes the landing field clean and here at the Academy we don’t need to use expensive robots. We always have plenty of Cadets.” Fective fell next to me as we walked towards the airlock.”I am sure glad if we get out of these ancient pressure suits. There are so much more advanced ones than these oldtimers.” Since he talked to me over the helmet radio. His comment was heard by the instrutors and one of them said.”All you do is put up the brooms and shovels. You going to stay out here all night. So you better get to like these old timers.” I wasn’t certain, but I think it was one of the human cadets I hadn’t really talked to much who said.”And what are we going to do for dinner and bathroom needs?” “Let it go, the suits are sealed and you just marinate a little till tomorrow. There won’t be any dinner tonight. But a good breakfast tomorrow. No one will die missing a meal.” They allowed us to sit or lay down. This wasn’t the first time in my life I went without food and we passed most of the time talking. It wasn’t all that bad at first. But around midnight, KI had to go so bad, I did let it go and felt embarassed and dirty for the rest of the night.” Two days with similar exercises and tests in and outside passed then we had class again and it was about military courtesy and how to salute, greet, snap to attention or stand at ease. Interlude 18: Admiral’s orders Admiral Stokes finished his last report and as usual he was among the last remaining on the administrative floor of the building. Cheeka was already gone and probably home by now. Her desk was as usual very orderly and organized. He had different assistants before her, but she was by far the best. She would have made a fine Chief. He wondered if she had any of her homemade cookies left. He was an Ult and had no sense of taste or smell, at least not like humans had, and no Ult would eat anything baked, cooked or fried. It had taken the Ult much longer than other civilizations to discover and utilize fire, being an amphibious species, and when they finally did it was not used for cooking or heating. Ulta was a warm planet and heating was not necessary. After living almost three thousand years alongside humans and other species, some Ult began to eat steamed meals but it was still considered unusual and out of the norm. Webb had spend most of his adult life in the Union Fleet and he often thought of himself more human than some humans and adopted many mannerisms and habits. The crunchy buttery cookies sanding up his throat but then dissolving was a pleasurable experience only Cheeka’s cookies could provide. Ah there in the upper left drawer, a box with the light brown flaky baked things, his lower fin folded sideways, that was how an Ult smiled. He sat down with the box of cookies on the desk and ate another one. The FleetCom terminal started blinking and the Fleet Headquarter Logo surrounded by five stars appeared on the activating field screen. There was only one Officer who had five stars. Admiral of the Fleet Obrock Mc Elligott, it was either him or his office calling. He accepted before the call would be routed to the Main Desk. A handsome second Lieutenant appeared and he said. “Hello Sweet cheeks, my boss wants to talk to your boss is he still in?” Webb activated visuals and said. “I am flattered you call me Sweet cheeks, Lieutenant, but if your boss wants to talk to my boss, he would have to talk to himself, right?” The man sat upright and became all business. “I am sorry, Admiral Webb, Sir! I did not mean any disrespect. I thought I am calling Ms. Hopkins.” Stokes remembered that Cheeka’s last name was Hopkins since she dissolved her last marriage contract.” My assistant went already home and I will ask her tomorrow if she feels offended you calling her not by her proper name. Now get me connected to the Admiral.” “Yes Sir, right away!” Mc Elligott was in his office holding a golf club and standing before a simulation that transferred the rear of his office into a luscious green golf course with old looking buildings in the distance. “Ah Webb, there you are. I was not sure if you were still in the office or not. I know you usually are and so I called. Turn on your Avatar and join me for a few chips, I just received this new Simulation of St. Andrews.” “I was on my way out when you got me Sir. I am not good at that human game!” “You are the best darn Ult golfer in the entire Union and you know it. There are humans who wish to be half as good as you.” Elligott however turned the Simulation off and handed his club to the robotic golf bag and turned on his Avatar instead and appeared in the anteroom of the Academy Commandant’s office. Webb was long enough around humans to be able to differentiate and recognize even subtle facial expressions and body language. The Old Admiral was an old man even before the Guardian had made him immortal and so his appearance of an old man had been frozen in time and he always appeared like a wrinkled white haired man with a slight bend stature. While he wore the Uniform jacket of a Fleet officer with all the decorations and rank insignia the highest ranking officer in the fleet had, he wore a skirt. Not that anyone knowing Obrock ever use the word skirt, but the word kilt. It was the traditional dress of the Highlanders, a special tribe from Earth. The kilt, the single malt scotch whiskey, the socks and black shoes were the famous trademarks of the Immortal Admiral. Many knew about the old Admirals trademark habits and things, but Webb was certain that only very few knew where the original Scotland was or the meaning behind those trademarks. Elligott walked to the big windows and said while looking outside. “I do have a few things I wanted to discuss with you and it is official business too, more or less, but we still need to go golfing again. And no simulation either but right at the real St. Andrews.” “I have been there three times with you, Sir. You should come with me to Ulta, we do have our first Golf course there as well and it is a very scenic 6449 Par 67 course.” “Send me an invitation and I follow up, always eager to check out a new course.” Webb ate another cookie and waited for the old man to come to the reason for his visit. Mc Elligott pointed out the window. “I am not interfering with Academy business, but I would like to know why there are ten cadets all by themselves painting one of the already red Applicant roads red again.” “Because one of them hid a Gelatinous Stink Pulse Maggot in one of the lesser liked instructor’s back pocket and there was a considerable disturbance when said instructor, took his break and sat down in the Officers mess hall, quashing the maggot.” Elligott chuckled. “That is a good one. They had to air out the Assembly at Pluribus for two days after the Elly had that cultural specialties lunch almost all new members hold and only about fifty delegates showed up for the feast and all species without noses or sense of smell. I see there is an Elly among them, was it him?” “I am pretty sure, but when we asked who did all ten stood up and insisted they did the deed.” “That’s a pretty tight group for five day old cadets.” “Very unusual indeed and it is that Neo Viking, the blonde one down there who was the initial cause to get them stick together.” “Neo Viking you say? Olhausen, Olbertson ... Olafson. Is his name Olafson?” Webb stopped putting another cookie in his mouth.” Yes Eric Olafson, that’s his name. Do you know him” “Not really, no, but his name turned up before and there aren’t many Neo Vikings this side of Nilfeheim, I think Richard had interest in him if he hasn’t forgotten by now.” “What official business is it that you wanted to discuss, Sir?” Webb was disappointed to find out he just ate the last cookie. “Well since there is an Elly in that group and he seems to get along with the others, even making Academy pranks, I think I take those ten down there.” “You take them?” Webb said and leaned forward. “Where?” “Oh silly me, I forgot to tell you. The Yokuta want to celebrate the Union Victory over the Nogoll. The Yokuta are a virtual unknown species that until know slaved for the Nogoll in a star system named Arlicherb. The Nogoll ruled with iron fist over the Yokuta for nearly three hundred years and now they are free. They are a Tech Level three society and technically or cultural quite unimportant, but I rather have the Yokuta join the Union as them being turned by the Kermac or have another Freespace system were Pirates can hide and exploit the natives.” Webb nodded.” I can understand that. I know this corner of space quite well, as it is right in front of Arsenal’s front door so to speak and I am certain the Kermac know about the Yokuta and just wait for the Union to leave, turn them into a thrall species and regain control over an important system they had lost due to the Nogoll, but what does all this have to do with Plebes Cadets, barely five days in the Academy?” “The Yokuta heard three hundred years of bad propaganda about the Union, and they don’t trust us. But they do trust the Elly who are genetically related to them. The Yokuta government wanted to talk to a young Elly who made friends with other Union species. The Yokuta believe youth speaks the truth as they didn’t have enough practice to lie like adults and elders. Now I see an Elly best buddies with Terran humans, two Attikan, a Garbini and a Non Corp. I would have preferred a fully trained Ensign, but these are the first joining, right?” “There are sixty that made the entry qualifications, and a few thousand joined Basic training so I heard from the Space Naval School for Enlisted Personnel.” “Put two more Elly in that group down there and remove two of the humans and have them report at the Landing field at 0800 tomorrow morning. Issue full dress Uniform. The whole affair will last only a few days and they are back well in time to be ferried to base camps.” Webb used his PDD and made it an official order and had the Admiral sign off on it then transmitted his orders to the instructors. Interlude 19: ELAY Ealy did not make it to Kermac Prime he had received an order from the First Billie to head for the Tilbahr dust cloud and await orders. The Tilbahr cloud was fourteen light years from The Nog and within TLFAX range. His reconnaissance units reported that the Kermac main system was swarming with Kekall and Hythagh Battle Ships. The Kermac had obviously prepared for such an eventuality. His orders had him miss out on the big battle in the Ontbe System. Only a handful of small courier ships had made it out and joined them here at this secret Nogoll rally point. The survivors told him that the new Rear Admiral had the Ontbe System surrounded with destroyers, frigates and Thor Gun Boats, used long range sniper Translocator fire and fast Fighter attacks without committing his capital units.Instead the battle ships attacked Erba and ‘The Nog’ simultaneously. There were no news of Erba or ‘The Nog’, Erba was just one planet and a handful of ships. The Nog was the Nogoll home world, it was where the Holy Mountain was. The reconnaissance ships he had sent to reconnoiter around ‘The Nog’, had not returned. He was close enough for TLFAX but none of his coded messages were answered. Then four hours ago a message came: “All remaining independent Nogoll forces, ‘The Nog’ has fallen. The Holy Mountain is desecrated by foreign troops and the bones of the Ancestors are ground to dust under the boots of Union Marines. I am Sreal the 2nd of the Itsna Dynasty and I am the last. Hear my last orders, these are the sacred wishes of the last firt Billie: Fight! Seed terror and death among our enemies. Make them whisper the name Nogoll with fear and remember it for generations!” Shortly after a second TLFAX message came: “This is Asril, chosen of the White Nogoll, I was made the temporary military governor of ‘The Nog’. The Nogoll rebels of Erba confirm the end of the Itsna dictator ship. Hagurr the poet and dissident was successfully freed from state prison. He agreed to lead our kind until free elections can be held to choose a Billie for all Nogoll, black, brown or white. We know that there are still Nogoll forces out there, you have no supply bases, and your old government no longer exists. Come home lay down your weapons and help in the process building a new free Nogoll society and a free ‘Nog’. You will be treated fair and face no harm or shame. However all Units and Nogoll troops that do not surrender and continue to fight will be considered criminals and enemies and will be dealt with as such.” Ealy opened ship to ship. “Traitors! White Nogoll in charge of the Nog, traitors! Hagurr this pacifistic weakling who could not attract a single nanny, now wants to be first Billie, traitors! Sreal the second has not surrendered and gave us an order! We will fight and carry out his will to the last ship and Billie!” His scanner operators confirmed the approach of Union ships. They needed to hide, wait for a good moment and strike at soft targets, not slug it out with a space fleet in open combat. Only two ships made it and out of the Dust cloud. All that remained was hate and revenge. His plan was to go back to Arlicherb. Sneak in with a dozen small boats, hide out in the old mountain base and make the Union and the traitors pay with acts of terror.” Chapter 19 » Category:Fragments - Eric Olafson Category:Stories